Scientists Discover 12 New Moons Orbiting Jupiter
2023-02-13
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1Astronomers have discovered 12 additional moons orbiting Jupiter.
2That means Jupiter now has a total of 92 moons, more than any other planet in our solar system.
3The new moons were recently added to a list kept by the internationally recognized Minor Planet Center.
4The center -operated by the International Astronomical Union - continually records the positions of planets, moons and other space objects.
5Scott Sheppard is an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution of Science.
6He was a member of the team that made the latest discoveries.
7Sheppard told The Associated Press (AP) that the new moons were found using telescopes in Hawaii and Chile in 2021 and 2022.
8The first sightings were confirmed with additional observations.
9The latest moons are between one and three kilometers in size, he said.
10"I hope we can image one of these outer moons close-up in the near future to better determine their origins," Sheppard added.
11Sheppard has already taken part in 70 moon discoveries for Jupiter.
12He also discovered moons orbiting Saturn.
13Sheppard noted that Jupiter's newly discovered moons have not yet been named.
14He said only half of them are big enough - at least 1.5 kilometers - to justify a name.
15In our solar system, some planets have numerous moons while some have none.
16The American Space Agency NASA reports that Saturn had been the planet with the most moons until the most recent announcement.
17Saturn currently is known to have 83 moons.
18Saturn held the top position since 2019 when Sheppard's team discovered 20 additional moons.
19Before that, Jupiter was the solar system's leader with 79 confirmed moons.
20Sheppard told the AP he expects to keep adding moons to both Jupiter and Saturn in the future.
21Scientists believe Jupiter and Saturn's many small moons formed from crashes with larger moons, asteroids, or other space objects.
22Uranus and Neptune also have many small moons.
23But since those planets are much farther from Earth, discovering new moons orbiting those planets is more difficult, Sheppard said.
24Saturn has two so-called "ocean moons," called Enceladus and Titan.
25The pieces of ice and rock that form rings around Saturn are not considered moons themselves, NASA said.
26But moons do exist within the planet's rings and help to keep the rings in line.
27Jupiter's moons include the largest in the solar system, Ganymede, an ocean moon called Europa and a volcanic moon named lo.
28NASA notes that many of Jupiter's outer moons have what are called retrograde orbits.
29That means they orbit in the opposite direction that the planet spins in.
30Of the other major planets in our solar system, Uranus has 27 confirmed moons, while Neptune has 14.
31Mars has two and Earth has one. Venus and Mercury have no confirmed moons.
32Earth's moon is thought to have formed when a large space body about the size of Mars crashed into Earth.
33Scientists believe material from the resulting crash came together to form our moon about 4.5 billion years ago.
34The huge gas planet Jupiter remains one of the most interesting for astronomers.
35Jupiter's atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium.
36It orbits about 778 million kilometers from our sun.
37This year, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch a spacecraft to explore Jupiter.
38The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, called JUICE, is expected to launch sometime in April.
39The mission will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large moons.
40ESA says it hopes the observations will help scientists learn more about Jupiter's complex environment as they use the planet as a model for other gas giants across the universe.
41I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Astronomers have discovered 12 additional moons orbiting Jupiter. That means Jupiter now has a total of 92 moons, more than any other planet in our solar system. 2The new moons were recently added to a list kept by the internationally recognized Minor Planet Center. The center -operated by the International Astronomical Union - continually records the positions of planets, moons and other space objects. 3Scott Sheppard is an astronomer with the Carnegie Institution of Science. He was a member of the team that made the latest discoveries. 4Sheppard told The Associated Press (AP) that the new moons were found using telescopes in Hawaii and Chile in 2021 and 2022. The first sightings were confirmed with additional observations. 5The latest moons are between one and three kilometers in size, he said. "I hope we can image one of these outer moons close-up in the near future to better determine their origins," Sheppard added. 6Sheppard has already taken part in 70 moon discoveries for Jupiter. He also discovered moons orbiting Saturn. 7Sheppard noted that Jupiter's newly discovered moons have not yet been named. He said only half of them are big enough - at least 1.5 kilometers - to justify a name. 8In our solar system, some planets have numerous moons while some have none. 9The American Space Agency NASA reports that Saturn had been the planet with the most moons until the most recent announcement. Saturn currently is known to have 83 moons. Saturn held the top position since 2019 when Sheppard's team discovered 20 additional moons. Before that, Jupiter was the solar system's leader with 79 confirmed moons. 10Sheppard told the AP he expects to keep adding moons to both Jupiter and Saturn in the future. 11Scientists believe Jupiter and Saturn's many small moons formed from crashes with larger moons, asteroids, or other space objects. Uranus and Neptune also have many small moons. But since those planets are much farther from Earth, discovering new moons orbiting those planets is more difficult, Sheppard said. 12Saturn has two so-called "ocean moons," called Enceladus and Titan. The pieces of ice and rock that form rings around Saturn are not considered moons themselves, NASA said. But moons do exist within the planet's rings and help to keep the rings in line. 13Jupiter's moons include the largest in the solar system, Ganymede, an ocean moon called Europa and a volcanic moon named lo. NASA notes that many of Jupiter's outer moons have what are called retrograde orbits. That means they orbit in the opposite direction that the planet spins in. 14Of the other major planets in our solar system, Uranus has 27 confirmed moons, while Neptune has 14. Mars has two and Earth has one. Venus and Mercury have no confirmed moons. 15Earth's moon is thought to have formed when a large space body about the size of Mars crashed into Earth. Scientists believe material from the resulting crash came together to form our moon about 4.5 billion years ago. 16The huge gas planet Jupiter remains one of the most interesting for astronomers. Jupiter's atmosphere is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium. It orbits about 778 million kilometers from our sun. 17This year, the European Space Agency (ESA) plans to launch a spacecraft to explore Jupiter. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer spacecraft, called JUICE, is expected to launch sometime in April. The mission will make detailed observations of Jupiter and its three large moons. 18ESA says it hopes the observations will help scientists learn more about Jupiter's complex environment as they use the planet as a model for other gas giants across the universe. 19I'm Bryan Lynn. 20Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press, The Planetary Society and NASA. 21___________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23determine - n. to discover facts or truth about something 24origins - n. where something begins or comes from 25justify - v. to give a good enough reason to make something seem acceptable 26______________________________________________________________ 27What do you think of this story? We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 28Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.